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Prepare yourself, you sons of strength, and make ready for battle:
for it is better for us to die in battle,
than to see the wicked deeds of our nation
and the army of the saints arrayed against us.
As the will of God is in heaven, may it be on earth.

Today, Dominicans celebrate the feast of the Order’s first martyr, St. Peter of Verona.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Saint Peter was born at Verona, Italy, around 1205 of Manichean parents. While a student at Bologna, he entered the Order of Preachers, receiving the habit from the hands of Saint Dominic.  Full of zeal for the purity of the faith he preached the word of God and brought many people back to the true faith.  His concern for the growth of the faith among the laity led him to establish the Confraternity in Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Association of the Faith.  He earnestly promoted community life and served the brethren as prior. Towards the end of his life he received the office of inquisitor, a ministry which he carried out to great effect.  On April 6, 1252, while returning from Como to Milan he was set upon by a group of heretics and was fatally stabbed.  As he lay dying on the roadway, he wrote on the ground with his own blood his final testament to the Cahtolic doctrine which he had so staunchly defended in life: Credo in unum Deum.

Because he was the first martyr of the Order, St. Peter became a favorite subject of early Dominican art.  For example, Fra Angelico included him in many of his San Marco frescos in Florence.  Whenever he’s depicted by any artist, St. Peter is rather easy to identify.  He’s the friar with a knife sticking out of his head (as above), or rather with a gaping cranial wound, the weapon having been removed.

For more on St. Peter of Verona, click here and here.

O God,
the author and guardian of our faith,
you crowned blessed Peter with martyrdom
for his perseverance in the confession of the truth faith;
grant that we your faithful people
may receive the salvation of our souls
by confessing that same faith in word and deed.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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